Phyllis Visits Philly!

Susanna Leonard Hill’s Phantastic Phabulous Phyllis is on a WORLD TOUR! I recently reviewed Phyllis’ first book “Punxsutawney Phyllis” – read the review HERE, but now Phyllis is out seeing the world right before April Fools Day in honor of her second book, “April Fool Phyllis”! We got to be a stop on her world tour!!

We were very excited to see Phyllis pull up in her limo! In fact, a lot of people must have been very excited because a small crowd gathered to watch Phyllis take her first step in my town (and her first bounding leaps into our house to escape the crowd)! When it was time to head to Philly, we had to sneak out the back door while people shouted “WE WANT PHYLLIS!!!!! GIVE US PHYLLIS!” We jumped in the car and made our get away.

We had to buckle up Phyllis so something didn’t happen to this very special groundhog! When Phyllis heard what city we were going to, PHILADELPHIA, she wanted to see some historic sites!

During the car ride, Phyllis told us all about the travels she has had so far. You can read about Phyllis’ travels at Susanna Leonard Hills’ blog HERE. Phyllis also showed us she knew how to spell Saskatchewan (something she learned from her last stop with Beth Stilborn – check it out HERE).

Phyllis told us the weather would be cloudy in the morning but sunny by afternoon with a high of 71ºF. You know, she was right!

First stop: Independence Hall! We got a photo together in front of it to remember the trip. Outside of Independence Hall, Phyllis rapidly started asking me questions.

Groundhog: Why is it called Independence Hall?

Human: The founding fathers of our country wrote the Declaration of Independence in it. That’s how it got its present name.

Groundhog: You mean it had more than one name?

Human: Yes. Before the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, it was called the Pennsylvania State House where the governor of Pennsylvania had important meetings.

Next Stop: The Liberty Bell! The Liberty Bell is real close to Independence Hall so we walked over. Phyllis was upset that you can’t actually ring the Liberty Bell. My mom said when she was a girl you could still touch the Liberty Bell, but they found that the oils from people’s (and groundhog’s) hands caused the metal to decay so they don’t let anyone touch it any more. Phyllis was still happy to see the crack!

Next Stop: Betsy Ross’ House! We then walked over to Betsy Ross’ house and guess who we ran into! You guessed it -The Easter Bunny! Phyllis was happy to see a fellow rodent. The Easter Bunny posed for a photo and we continued. Phyllis liked that Betsy Ross’ house still looks like it did in colonial times.

We even got to take a picture in Betsy Ross’ upholstery shoppe!

After Betsy Ross’ House we walked back to our car and stopped at the place where they uncovered the foundation of George Washington’s House, the ORIGINAL White House! Phyllis wanted to peek in so I held her up to see!

Then we ran into the Philly Phanatic … I mean the PHYLLIS Phanatic!

Then we headed for the…

Last Stop: The Franklin Institute!

Phyllis was amazed at how big and pale Benjamin Franklin was (I told her it was only a statue).

We had a quick lunch in the Franklin Food Works (Phyllis wanted a Philly soft pretzel). We then headed over to one of the BIGGEST and OLDEST attractions at the Franklin Institute…THE GIANT HEART – Josie was kind of scared of the big heart so she didn’t want to get a picture with it, but Phyllis was interested and wanted to walk through it and she convinced Josie to come too!

At the science museum, Phyllis was totally into it. We learned about electricity, exercise, magnets, flight, physics and …wait for it… WEATHER!!!

Phyllis was already running towards the weather display when we saw it. Phyllis helped Josie and I learn how to do a weather forecast. We were so proud to be working with a professional!

Phyllis said she had a lot of fun but she had to catch a plane to get to her next stop. We were all so happy to be part of Phyllis’ WORLD TOUR!

illustrations copyright Jeff Ebbeler
badge design by Donna Farrell

BOOK REVIEW

April Fool Phyllis!
By Susanna Leonard Hill
Illustrated by Jeffery Ebbeler
28 pages – ages 4+
Published by Holiday House on April 1, 2011

In “April Fool, Phyllis,” Phyllis predicts a blizzard will hit on April first, but no one believes her. Will she be able to convince her fellow groundhogs to cancel the Spring Treasure Hunt and stay inside where it is safe? Read the book to find out!

Phyllis is a great charater and I really liked the story in this book! I like how Phyllis believes in herself. The illustrations in the book are awesome too!

Five out of five book worms!

To see all of Phyllis’ adventures, please visit the Phyllis World Tour page HERE. To learn more about Ms. Hill and her other books, please visit her blog HERE and her website HERE.

38 replies

This Philly/Phyllis post rocks socks! I loved founding out more about Philadelphia with Phyllis and you and your sister! That giant heart is just amazing, Erik! Phyllis’ rock star status has clearly gotten out! What did it feel like to be accompanying a superstar around your renowned city?

Thank you Miss Marple!!! It is AWESOME to accompany a superstar around the City of Brotherly Love! 🙂 The giant heart IS amazing! When Phyllis gets to your house, prepare for happy, excited mobs! 😉 I can’t wait to read about Phyllis in FRANCE!!

Wow! Awesome photos! Incredible sightseeing! As you know, I have never been to Philly, so this was doubly phabulous to read! How phun that Phyllis got to visit so many interesting and historic places with you and Josie. I’m glad you were able to dodge the hordes of phans and see the sights. And imagine running into the Easter Bunny – what were the chances? I’m also pleased that Phyllis was able to help you in return by teaching you to do a weather report! Thank you so much for having her, Erik (and Josie and your parents!) I can tell by her smile in all those pictures that she had a GREAT time with you! I can’t believe you were able to convince her to continue on to her next stop – I’m sure she was ready to move right in with you 🙂 Thanks again for having her!

Thank you for the nice compliments Ms. Hill! Thank YOU for letting me be in Phyllis’ World Tour! 🙂 I would have LOVED to have gone with Phyllis and see the world! The weather report was really fun – I mean: PHUN!
Erik

Wow- Phyllis in Philly! What a great visit to the City of Brotherly Love. Food, fun, liberty and learning – exactly what a great visit should include. I’m with Josie on the big heart though – yick! Great job Erik and family!

Wow, Phyllis must have had a great time learning about American history and exploring science. We were just reading about Philadelphia in a beginner George Washington biography that Cooper’s daddy bought for him. He had all kinds of questions. He’ll be happy to see the pictures of the town.

WOW, Phyllis tours Philly. Loved that she was met in a limo and taken for a grand tour of the great historical sites of our country. Loved the photos of you and Josie with Phyllis. Bet she went nuts when she found the Weather section of the Musuem. Looked like she had a ball giving the weather report on TV. HA – you were very creative with your tour for Phyllis. What about a the famous Philly Steak and Cheese? 🙂 Great job, Erik.

Thank you Ms. Tilton! I am glad you liked my post. The weather station was new since we were last there. We didn’t even know it was there until we saw it! We were thinking of going for cheese steaks for lunch but our favorite cheesesteak place was too far away to make it in time – **TIP don’t bother with the famous Pat or Genos – go to Chubby’s (dad says it is in the East Falls section of Philly) for the best cheesesteaks! We had a lot of fun with Phyllis!!

Erik, what a wonderful post! I can’t believe how much stuff you did with Phyllis in just one day. You guys must have been pooped! I’m hoping she’ll come to Italy, too, but she might be having issues with her passport. Fingers crossed. (My family took a trip to Philly when I was in school, and I definitely touched the Liberty Bell!)

Thank you Ms. La Tulippe! It was a nice (and busy) day. A lot of the historical things in Philadelphia are all right near each other. The Franklin Institute was the only place we had to drive to. I would love to read about Phyllis in Italy! ANOTHER person who touched the bell! Sadly I wil never…. 🙁

I was in Philly last April and blogged about it, too. It would have been more phun if Phyllis had been with us but we had a blast. You can read about my trip on the NY trip on my blog if you want. But it doesn’t hold a candle to your post. I love all the photos. So good to see a photo of you Erik. And one of Josie, too.

That’s great you got to see the Liberty Bell up close Ms. Bowman-Jahn (when I first saw the Liberty Bell, it was on July 4th, and we had to take our photo through the window but this time it was different 😉 )! I’ve never been to NY before. I want to vist it though! Thank you for telling me about your posts! 🙂

Erik, Your review was the BEST! Phyllis’s head probably won’t fit back in the burrow because it is so loaded with new Philly Facts! You have a great sense of humor…this post made me laugh out loud. Wonderful writing!

What an exciting trip for Phyllis – crazed fans, history and science! My family visited Philadelphia about five years ago when the King Tut exhibit came through (which was awesome) and we visited almost all of the places you took Phyllis. Philadelphia is an incredible city to be in if you’re interested in American History. Well done with great photos, Erik!